Born in the year just before Meiji Revolution, Natumesouseki witnessed Japanese modernization as well as oriental and western culture conflicts and fusion of the age. Very interested in Chinese, the major subject of his elementary education, he studied some classical Chinese works such as Lunyu, Zuozhuan and Shiji, and developed a general idea about literature. At that time, Meiji government promoted“civilization”, imitating the west in politics, culture and daily life, and some educators, represented ...
